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A challenging task

Lakshmipathi
Active Contributor
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Scenario is delivering plant is supplying to both Domestic and US depots. Sales area maintained for this parent plant is of domestic sales area in IMG => Set up Stock Transport Order => Define Shipping Data for Plants.

While for domestic depots, there is a link between parent plant and depot by referencing the parent plant's excise invoice, it is not so in case of overseas depot. They just stock transfer against a PO to replenishment delivery and this delivery to a proforma with movement type 641.

As and when overseas depot issues material to end customer, the parent plant is raising an export order and complete the SD process.

Now the plant requirement is that they want a link between proforma and export order so that at any point of time, over and above the proforma quantity, commercial invoice should not be generated, which is not possible as of now due to the fact that sales area is different as stated above. This configuration has been done by a different team and I dont know why they have gone in this method. I cannot even change the sales area to export for parent plant since they are servicing local depot also.

Under the circumstances, what best method I can adopt to achieve the requirement in such a way that as and when a sale order is created for overseas depot, the end user has to refer the proforma.

thanks

G. Lakshmipathi

Edited by: Lakshmipathi on Jun 10, 2010 5:05 PM

Accepted Solutions (1)

Accepted Solutions (1)

Former Member
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Hello Lakshmipathi

Firstly greetings to you, a veteran with many posts and solutions. I also appreciate the way you moderate the forum in a mature, responsible fashion.

Coming down to your issue:

My questions/assumptions:

1) I am assuming that the overseas Depot is under another Company code, Sales area etc. And so this is a Cross-company STO? And it is one SAP client ( I guess so) all across. Please elaborate the org/client structures if you would.

2) By saying "Now the plant requirement is that they want a link between proforma and export order so that at any point of time, over and above the proforma quantity, commercial invoice should not be generated", do you mean to say the first time goods are sent overseas through STO, they are meant for a particular customer and so your users want the check to not exceed Proforma Invoice Quantity in the Export sales order. Is there a possibility of having more than one Proforma for the same material and 'supposed' customer. Also are all the items in one STO meant for one customer or they may be for different (multiple) customers. I am assuming that it is for one customer.

3) You also mentioned "As and when overseas depot issues material to end customer, the parent plant is raising an export order and complete the SD process". How do they inform the parent plant?

4) I also want to confirm that the receiving plant of STO (Overseas Depot) is the Delivering plant in the Export sales order. And Export Sales order is not just an order type but is for a different sales area ( may be the Dist. Channel is different).

Please clarify the above questions.

My solution ideas:

1) My quick fix solution would be to capture the 'supposed' customer in the STO as a suitable Header Partner, say Ordering Address (OA). Then place a user exit in the order MV45AFZB- USEREXIT_CHECK_VBAP to check if there are any proforma invoices in the domestic sales area (hard code?) for the combination of {Delivering plant (receiving plant in STO), Export order SP customer as OA partner and for the Item material} and if so, compare the invoice quantity to order item quantity and raise an error/warning.

2) Alternately may be you can use Export Consignment process to automatically create a consignment fill-up once STO is delivered using OA Partner of STO as the SP customer and Overseas Depot as the Delivering plant. And then do Consignment Issue when the customer picks up the material/s.

Are there any holes? Let us know. Good luck.

Lakshmipathi
Active Contributor
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At the outset, I would like to thank you for the compliments and the time taken in looking into the issue. Meanwhile, please find below my feedback to your questions.

1) Answer to your first question is NO. Stock Transfer is being made under one company code

2) The parent plant dont know the end customer to whom the material would be supplied, at the time of stock transfer. Also one material would be supplied to multiple overseas customers from US depot.

3) From US depot, they would send a ASN (Advance Shipment Notice) in which, they will indicate just the material code, customer code and quantity issued. Based on this, parent plant marketing will create a sale order in VA01 without referencing the origin proforma and complete the SD process

4) As I said already, since this configuration has been done ten years back by a different team and now only, the plant has roused and came for a rescue.

5) Last but not least, I cannot go for consignment process now due to various management's decisions

thanks

G. Lakshmipathi

Answers (3)

Answers (3)

Jelena
Active Contributor
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>

Now the plant requirement is that they want a link between proforma and export order so that at any point of time, over and above the proforma quantity, commercial invoice should not be generated

Trying to think out of the box here... So basically all they want is for the users to not be able to create an export order (in VA01, I assume?) for the amount/quantity that exceeds the proforma amount/quantity?

Unless there is more to it, I think this could be easily implemented through a user exit. Since they cannot use standard "with reference" functionality, they will just need to enter proforma # in another field. If they want also to see that document in the document flow, this might be tricky, but I think this is technically feasible too.

Unfortunately, I don't know much about depots and import/export operations, but I do know the ABAP side.

Lakshmipathi
Active Contributor
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I am already working with exit. Anyway thanks for the inputs and time spent.

G. Lakshmipathi

Lakshmipathi
Active Contributor
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Based on client's request, developed a zee report through which users can monitor the stock details against each and every proforma. Sale order will be created without referencing the proforma due to operational constraints.

thanks

G. Lakshmipathi

Jelena
Active Contributor
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In VA01, can the users enter a proforma invoice # in the Create with Reference -> Billing document? And can the copy requirements be maintained between the proforma and sales order in question?

Lakshmipathi
Active Contributor
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can the users enter a proforma invoice # in the Create with Reference

No due to the fact that the proforma document type is domestic and with reference to this, I need to create an export sale order and here only, I am stuck. As I keep mentioning, I cannot change the sales area in IMG path mentioned above. In that case, how to proceed ?????

thanks

G. Lakshmipathi

Former Member
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G. Lakshmipathi

I think you can try to work out this solution,

You can create sales order with reference to the proforma invoice. Automatically the sales area will be domestic on the export sales order.

In the user exit before saving the doucument, you need to check country of the plant and the country of ship to party are not identical, then you need to use the change order bapi and change the sales area in the order.

This should work. You will get the link between sales order and the proforma invoice and you will also get the correct sales area in the sales order.

Please give a thought over it.

Regards,

Chetan

Lakshmipathi
Active Contributor
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IMG => Set up Stock Transport Order => Define Shipping Data for Plants.
 I cannot even change the sales area to export for parent plant 
      since they are servicing local depot also.

In fact, I am more concerned on this only. I tried changing to exports sales area and created a sale order referencing this proforma and I could suceed in this. But the problem is as I said above, the same parent plant is supplying to domestic depot also and if I change the sales area in the above IMG path, they cannot service to domestic depot. Since the sales area assignment here is based on plant, I am literally stuck up.

In this case, I feel some brainstorming is required !!!!!!

thanks

G. Lakshmipathi

Edited by: Lakshmipathi on Jun 14, 2010 11:47 AM

Former Member
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Hi Lakshmi,

My understanding about your issue in a nutshell is

To create the export order the reference should be that proforma invoice. In that case, the proforma invoice & STO delivery are to be extended to the export sales area but the STO delivery should not be triggered in the export sales area.

Regards,

S.Balaji.

Former Member
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Hi Lakshmi,

My understanding about your issue in a nutshell is

To create the export order the reference should be that proforma invoice. In that case, the proforma invoice & STO delivery are to be extended to the export sales area but the STO delivery should not be triggered in the export sales area.

Regards,

S.Balaji.

Lakshmipathi
Active Contributor
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Yes how it is possible to extend. As I said above, in IMG path, currently, domestic sales area is maintained for the parent plant and I cannot change this now.

thanks

G. Lakshmipathi